DND releases more information regarding Chinook helicopter crash near Petawawa
Posted Aug 29, 2023 03:17:38 PM.
The Department of National Defence (DND) has provided an update about the Chinook helicopter crash on the Ottawa River near Petawawa that killed two Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) members.
Captain David Domagala, 32, of Woodstock, Ontario, and Captain Marc Larouche, 53, of Amos, Quebec were travelling with two other crew members undergoing a training mission shortly after midnight on June 20, when the helicopter crashed into the Ottawa River near Garrison Petawawa.
Two of the crew members were located shortly thereafter and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the search for the other two took several hours.
In a statement on Tuesday, Aug. 29, the DND said the helicopter started to go down during the training exercise and was turning left. It hit the Ottawa River with high energy, according to the DND update.
The helicopter was destroyed and has been removed from the river.
The DND said the investigation is ongoing and is focusing on human, technical, and environmental factors.”
